Giving Her What She Needs
by baby-kitsune9
Summary: Ichigo hated being different. It always made her feel as if she were a freak. And now, after her retirement as a soul reaper, she simply wanted nothing more than to blend in and simply be another human. Unfortunately, she possesses a blood ability that makes her a target. And Nezu plans to thoroughly take advantage. Toshinori/fem Ichigo fic. formerly, 'Dangerous Lover'
1. Chapter 1

She was a newly hired doctor at the school when Toshinori first saw her. Recovery Girl had had to take some vacation time due to her age and health. Leaving the principal to hire someone to fill in for her while she was gone. Though to be perfectly honest, Toshinori very much doubted that the woman would have expected Nezu to hire someone like her.

At first glance, the absolute first thing that was noticed about her was how glaringly obvious it was just how _young_ she was. Toshinori doubted that she had even managed to reach twenty just yet. In fact, he estimated her age to be somewhere between sixteen and nineteen.

Which was shocking in and of itself.

Another things that he automatically noticed, was her looks. In fact he damned near walked himself into a wall the moment that he laid his eyes on her.

She was tall too for a girl her age. Her height reaching six foot easily.

Her face was devoid of any cosmetics, which was unusual considering how immaculately she was dressed in a navy colored sweater dress, black cotton leggings and black leather flats. The only jewelry that she wore was a pair of pearl stud earrings and a pearl necklace.

Her long black hair hung down her back in layers and feathery wisps that curled here and there wildly, while her long bangs hung partially in her eyes and framed both sides of her face in a fetching manner that emphasized the natural beauty of her exotic features.

She had ivory colored skin, smooth, unblemished- exotically shaped neon blue eyes that seemed intense and damn near _glowing_. She was petite, but not so much so that she was without a nice lush hourglass figure. In fact her build was lithe and athletic and indicated that she was made for speed.

Which was...strange. Unless she had a speed quirk.

And the way that she carried herself was...unusual. She didn't slouch, didn't try to look small like most young ladies would in the presence of so many. No- she carried herself like someone who was used to being scrutinized and judged and simply didn't give a damn.

She met everyone with her head up and her spine straight. And her gaze...Jesus it was _chilling _as Nezu happily waited until she had joined them all in the conference room before bothering to introduce her.

"Everyone, this is Ichigo Kurosaki. She was recently hired to fill in for Recovery Girl while she's away for health reasons." Nezu said cheerfully as everyone took a chance to look their new co-worker over as the principal continued to speak, "I know that Ichigo is a lot younger than many of you are used to working with, however part of the reason for this is due to the fact that she graduated from her high school with honors at fourteen before attending medical school. At present she's nineteen, and one of the most overly qualified people in the medical field."

"Thanks Nezu." The woman muttered before then asking if he was done. He nodded, and she quickly excused herself to go and...shuffle some papers in her office? And then quickly left the room without bothering to say anything else to anyone.

Nezu's smile fell somewhat the moment that she exited the room and he then gave the rest of them an apologetic look as he muttered awkwardly, "Please don't take her present actions personally. She is simply not up to...pretending to pleasant at the moment. She's been...kind of overwhelmed with a lot lately."

Toshinori could imagine that the young woman was overwhelmed by much. Her new job/co-workers, working for UA. The possibility that the school and it's students could come under attack by _someone_. In all honesty he would have questioned her sanity if she wasn't at least worried about a little bit of all of that and more.

"Principal Nezu, why did you hire a girl that's barely even an adult?" Shouta asked, looking peeved that their new school doctor was barely an adult.

"As I said before, Ichigo is over qualified for the job. She _excels_ in various medical fields. Including trauma, transplant surgeries, the neutralization of poisons and other chemicals, the forced accelerated regeneration of limbs and organs-"

"Wait- _what?!_" Several of the others practically shouted as soon as the whole 'regeneration of limbs and organs' thing left Nezu's furry little mouth.

Toshinori himself was a tad bit busy coughing up blood from surprise.

Sighing, Nezu set his coffee mug aside and slowly said. "You heard me correctly. Ichigo can force others to _regenerate_ lost limbs, and organs. It's part of why I wanted her to work here. Aside from the excellent chance that she could probably save some of our more promising students from crippling themselves for life during training- her ability would also come in handy for other things as well. Including possibly _healing_ Toshinori and helping him regain his full health."

Everything was silent for a moment before someone, Cement-Toss stammered out over the excited clamor of his co-workers. "B-But shouldn't we, you know? _Test her?_ Just to be absolutely certain."

"I have. It was a little over a week before I hired her. I contacted a local hospital to begin rounding up volunteers for a small experiment-"

"You didn't." Someone, Shouta hissed out from between clenched teeth. Outrage flashing in his eyes. Likely because what Nezu had done was deemed unnecessarily cruel. He wasn't exactly wrong. But he wasn't entirely right either.

"I did. And out of the fifty seven people involved, Ichigo healed _all_ of them. She even healed some people who were brain dead, and had debilitating diseases and had lost limbs in terrible accidents."

"So she really can-" Toshinori finally spoke up to start to ask, his tone carefully hiding any sliver of renewed hope that he didn't want to show in his tone. His expression awed.

"Yes. She_ can_ heal you."

The blond nodded his head absently and then stood up and quietly left the room to go and find the miracle worker that Nezu had found as the room erupted into utter chaos as Midnight shouted, "Quick someone buy that woman some nice flowers and a large box of assorted imported chocolates from France!"

"I'm on it-" Hizashi sang happily while Shouta face palmed and swore about the idiocies of his friends.

* * *

Ichigo was sitting at her desk in her office, studying the various binders filled with information that she needed to memorize, spilling across her desk. Her thoughts were a million miles away as a soft knock at her door sounded. Twitching violently in her seat, she damn near fell out of it. Before she turned her head to glower at the door for a moment and finally sighed and got up and moving over to it and slowly opening it.

"Yes?" She asked tentatively as she eyed the hulking figure in the vivid bright yellow suit, standing just outside.

"May I come in?" The man asked, his tone was more gentle than she had expected. Polite. Coaxing even. Frowning she moved back and let the man shuffle into the room and gently shut the door behind her. Because slamming the door whenever she was in a pissy mood was a shitty thing to do, after all.

It was also a sign of immaturity and she would _not_ commit such temper tantrum displays. She was better than that.

The guy seemed to struggle for words for a moment as she moved away from the door and made her way back to her desk and sat back down as she said bitterly, "I guess that Nezu finally told everyone what I could do. And you decided to come and visit the freak, huh." It wasn't a question.

In fact the bitterness of her tone made the man recoil almost violently where he stood as he stared at her in disbelief before slowly saying, "Being able to help people who do not otherwise have any hope, doesn't make you a freak. It makes you...wonderful. Miraculous, even."

"Sure it does. So wonderful and miraculous that-" She started to snap at him about being how hunted she was. About the horrors that came from being used_ only_ for what she could do for others. But stopped herself at the last moment because those things weren't anyone's business.

"That?" He prompted, sounding curious. His expression carefully blank, though his intense blue eyes glittered as if he were a little bit angry.

Sighing as she took a moment to calm herself, and run her fingers through her dark hair with a slight grimace before she suddenly asked, "Did you need something? Or did you just come by to rattle my cage some?" She knew that she was being rude. Though she tried to keep her voice light as if she were joking.

"I...came to see if you would look over an old injury that pains me. But if this is a bad time-" He said as he glanced towards the door. Indicating that he could leave her be for now if she had something else that she needed to do.

"No, you're fine." She said almost automatically as she stood back up and walked over to him and gently took one of his arms in her hand and directed him over to one of the beds and told him to sit down.

He let her do as she liked because he could feel how unhappy she was at the moment and couldn't help but wonder about _why_ she seemed so upset.

Once he was sitting, she grabbed the small stool that Recovery Girl often used when she was treating someone and dragged it over to place it next to the bed, just a few inches from where he was sitting.

He noted that she was careful to not crowd him too much as he made himself comfortable.

"Show me what you need me to look at and I'll see what I can do to help you." Her tone was lighter now, gentler. Apparently she was trying to use some of her medical professionalism. Which Toshinori could appreciate to a degree. After all, she wasn't being rude or surly now.

"O-Of course." He stammered out as he loosened his tie some and then slipped out of his jacket and slowly began to unbutton his shirt. Despite the fact that his heart felt like it was going to punch through his chest, and his hands started to shake a little bit in anxiousness.

He wasn't sure what terrified him more.

The possibility that she wouldn't be able to heal him, even after Nezu told him that she could. Or the fact that she would see his scar up close, as well as all of the _ugliness_ that accompanied it.

He jumped a little bit when she reached out and lightly touched her hands to his own. Startling him into stilling as she made a soft tsk'ing sound before saying. "I don't know what you're so freaked about. But you should really calm down before you have a panic attack or something."

"O-Oh. Sorry." He mumbled as color rose in his cheeks.

"Don't be sorry, just be calm. I know that showing scars and stuff can be difficult sometimes...especially for some people. So- How about I show you one of mine before you show me yours." She suggested as she leaned back a little bit and slowly withdrew her hands as she tacked on. "This way you can see that your scar can't possibly be as bad as you think it is."

He wanted to gape at her in shock of her words, but the fact that she was already starting to stand up and gathering the fabric of her sweater dress in her hands- kept him silent. Or maybe it was his curiosity that kept him silent. Maybe a little bit of both?

"Please don't tell anyone that I took my shirt off." She said in a slightly pleading tone as she looked at him for a moment before then releasing one side of her top so that she could pat herself down as if she were checking to make sure that something was in place. Her bra maybe? Her embarrassed expression perplexed him for a moment before he heard her mutter, "Oh thank god." So he must have been right about the bra check.

He nodded his head mutely, silently promising her that he wouldn't tell anyone about her taking her clothing off. And she pulled her top up over her head and his eyes widened almost instantly in horror and dread as his eyes caught sight of the various, _vicious_ looking wounds- both old and new- that littered her entire torso.

_They're horrible!_ Was the first thing that he thought as his fingers twitched a little bit before tightening on the fabric of his shirt until he could almost feel it tear underneath his fingertips.

He didn't know what sort of life Miss Kurosaki had lived up until she had been hired by Nezu, but it was obvious that she'd had a difficult life. Perhaps much too _difficult_ for such a young woman.

The scars littering her body looked as if she had been held down and torn to ribbons repeatedly! There were so _many_ of them. Some, from what he could tell from his many years of work as a pro-hero were even consistent with torture!

And they were so _big_ too- she had one along her ribs that ran diagonally across her body. Nearly reaching her opposite side. She had several on her chest that overlapped.

The worst of which looked as if something nearly the size of his hand had been shoved right through the center of her chest, dangerously close to her heart. And there was another on her left shoulder that looked as if a chainsaw had been used on her flesh. It stretched from the top of her shoulder to nearly the center of her chest, straight down.

Such a terrible wound would have _torn_ through bone, shredded muscle and even separated her arm and part of her chest from her body!

She didn't say anything. To be perfectly honest, he might have flipped out on her if she had tried to make any jokes about such horrible wounds.

In all his years as a hero he'd never seen such horrible wounds on a woman before. Miss Kurosaki didn't look like much of a fighter to him. In fact, as athletic as she appeared- it was a wonder that none of the injuries were sports related. He would have expected that far more than this...kaleidoscope of nightmare inducing horrors that would forever be etched into his mind whenever he thought of the young woman from this day forward.

Loosening his fingers slightly on his shirt, he had the odd urge to reach out and trace a few of them with his fingertips to see just how deep they ran. But he quickly squashed the urge, and once he was done looking at her, reached out and grabbed her top and held it out to her as a silent indication that she should get redressed.

She took her top from him with a slightly grateful look and then quickly pulled it on while he took that small opening to finish unbuttoning his shirt and slipping it from his bad side so that she would have better access to the wound.

Once she was done putting her top back on and sat back down on the stool, he was sitting there waiting with his heart in his throat for her to look him over. Though Nezu had mentioned that she could heal him and a few other things that she could do- he wasn't all that sure what her process was or how it worked.

All he could do at this point was speculate as she moved in closer to him and very carefully brushed her fingertips along the outer edges of scar. Causing him to jump a tad bit and look at her as she quickly pulled her hands back and gave him an apologetic look and muttered, "Sorry. Cold hands." And then took a moment to rub her hands together really fast to warm them.

Not that her hands had been cold at all to begin with. The scar was just...sensitive to the touch. But then he figured that her lame excuse of having cold hands was her way of trying to devise a better way to examine it without causing him any discomfort.

He wasn't wrong, he figured as soon as she gently probed the edges again. The added warmth of her hands helping to sooth the ragged edges. Nullifying some of the sensitivity a bit.

"If you don't mind my asking, how did you get such an injury?" She asked curiously as he felt her carefully probe the middle of the scar, her fingertips likely feeling how thin the skin protecting his ribs and organs was if the frown that flitted across her face was any indication at all.

"I was injured on the job several years ago. It's a villain's handy work."

"Yes, I can see that. Whoever could do thins to another person with so little regard for the person that they're hurting..." She paused for a moment before saying darkly. "I hope that you beat the ever loving shit out of him."

Toshi looked at her for a second, unable to properly think of the words to express himself as far as her...vindictive words went. To be perfectly honest, she surprised him with them. And it had been quite a long time since anyone had sounded so angry on his behalf. So instead of speaking, he gave her a dangerous smile and caught her lips quirking up a tad as she muttered, "Good. I hope that he cried before you were done with him."

His smile became menacing in lieu of telling her outright that the villain had indeed _cried_ before he was done with him.

"Okay, I think I know how bad the injury is as well as some of the damage's involved. No wonder it hurts you so much." She said as she slowly withdrew her hands again. "I know that Nezu had told you and the rest of the others that I can heal a person quite easily, but there's a tad bit more to it than that."

"Oh?" He asked, curious.

"There are specific things that must be done to heal an injury like your own. One is blood."

"Blood?" He asked, blinking at her.

She nodded her head. "Blood. For me to even begin to help you- you would have to have some of my blood in your veins. I can achieve this several ways. One, I let you drink it- which is _weird_...I know. But you're body would absorb it pretty quickly given the fact that it's pretty starved for nutrients and stuff. Another way is to _inject_ you with some with a needle. It doesn't take much. Just a little bit will do."

He sat there silently because he was still a little bit hung up on the fact that he'd have to have her blood in him. The mental image of a vampire that looked like him, holding onto her as he drank from her neck freaked him the fuck out. Especially since he wasn't sure that he could actually do something so...so sensual with her. After all, they had just met.

Shouldn't he at least buy her dinner or something before he Dracula's her? Was that the right and gentlemanly thing to do here? He wondered idly.

"The other way that I can heal you is slower, but far less weird and disgusting. It'd take a few sessions, but if you have the time, we can get started now and you can swing by again later before you head home for another. I-If you're up to it that is."

"The first option is faster?"

"Y-Yeah. Depending on how you get my blood inside of you. Ingesting it is faster than the other way, but...like I said. I-It's weird."

"How exactly does having your blood help?"

"O-Oh. I have a natural regenerative ability in my blood. By having it inside of you, you sort of automatically gain the same ability. To a...small degree."

"How fast does it work?"

"With my blood in you," She said awkwardly. "Well, again it depends on how you take it. Ingesting it works much faster. Almost instantly, really. Whereas injecting it takes several moments because being outside of my body causes it to lose some of it's potency."

He made a humming sound as he thought carefully before finally asking, "How would I...uh...ingest your-"

"Straight from a vein is best."

He made a weird choking sound, and his face turned totally red as the 'Dracula' Toshinori mental image slithered through his mind again. _Oh dear god._ He thought in embarrassment as she let out a husky sounding chuckle as she took in his expression.

The poor guy looked half shell shocked and half excited. Almost as if he couldn't seem to make up his mind between one or the other. _Typical guy._ Ichigo thought as he finally asked how he should try ingesting her blood. Or rather whether or not he should try _biting_ her.

She didn't know what kind of person without fangs would bother to bite a person- normally human teeth were far to fucking dull to really do much damage. It was generally the pressure from the jaws that made a human bite dangerous. Still, she found herself laughing at the absurdity of his question before simply rolling up one of her shirt sleeves and saying.

"Like this," As she lifted her arm and opened her mouth to show him her fangs. They were small, and sharp and absolutely perfect for this task as she muttered, "Don't fight me." And then sank her small fangs into the flesh of her wrist and tore it open right before his wide, astonished eyes.

His mouth went dry as he watched her suck a few mouthful's of blood from her own wrist before abruptly releasing it and then turning her attention to him. Her lips were stained crimson from it and his own parted slightly to ask her what she was going to do when he suddenly found her moving slowly and more or less crawling into his lap.

He made a weird strangled sound in the back of his throat as she straddled his lap and brought her hands up to frame his face. His eyes went impossibly wider and he let out a funny little squeak as he found her mouth pressing against his own.

He tried to jerk away. Really he did. Alarm bells were going off in his mind until the realization of what she was trying to do finally hit him. The kiss was both a means of distraction _and_ a means to help him ingest the blood without distressing him further.

And it worked too. The soft touch of her lips against his own was a lot like a punch to the gut for him. It left him feeling dizzy and weak- his breath left his lungs in a slow hiss and then he went totally still and waited patiently for her to transfer the blood in her mouth to his own.

Letting her keep their mouths connected until he managed to swallow all of the liquid, he melted into the gentle contact and tried to ignore the vague sweetness lingering on his tongue as she slowly pulled back and released him.

Swallowing again in a slight daze, he stared at her as he felt her thumb brush along his bottom lip for a moment before she then removed herself from his lap and stood up. "You should lie down for a bit so that I can monitor you."

He couldn't quite get his mouth to work at the moment, so he decided that she was probably right about him lying down. At least until he could form coherent thoughts and words again.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been two days since he'd met Ichigo.

And in those two days, he'd tried- repeatedly to _thank_ her, and show her his gratitude for healing him. He'd already noted a remarkable difference in his health. He felt much better than he had in years. His energy was up, he was able to eat and drink stuff without making himself sick.

He wasn't coughing up anymore blood.

He was able to teach his students without having to run off at the drop of a hat now. He was even able to do his job as the Symbol of Peace again without any time limits, for crying out loud!

This was a big frigging deal!

_Two days ago...I met a woman that ultimately changed my fate._ Toshinori thought as he sat at his desk trying to think of something nice to do for Miss Kurosaki. He'd been wracking his brain ever since trying to think of an appropriate way to thank her for restoring his lost/damaged lungs and stomach.

But so far he kept coming up blank. He'd tried to think of a bunch of stuff that might work. But well- he didn't know her well enough to make a good choice about much of anything.

Flowers were nice, but not a good enough thank you for effectively giving him a new lease on life.

Buying her breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday for the rest of her life- while also_ nice_\- still sort of fell short as well. Paying the rent or mortgage on her home would also fall short. Though it would save her some money in the long run if he did so.

He'd tried...dear lord had he _tried_ since the other day when he finally realized the full repercussions of what her ability to heal had _truly_ done to him, to show his gratitude to her somehow.

But she kept insisting that it was her job and then brushing him off so that she could scamper off to parts unknown. Which apparently were _really_ unknown. He'd damned near tore the entire school apart looking for her twice already. Drawing on his knowledge of the school grounds as both a former student and a current teacher.

Where did she even run off too to hide anyways? Was there a protal to China located somewhere on the premises that he didn't know about? Was that how she was escaping him?

"Where could you be hiding from me?" He wondered aloud as he kept mulling over how to best show his gratitude to her. He could try buying her something nice and fancy. Like a car maybe? No. Diamonds?_ Uragh!_

"I'd buy her a damned _mountain_ of diamonds if she'd just stand still long enough for me to thank her properly." He muttered in an irked tone as he flopped his head onto his desk and stared at the clock on the far wall almost menacingly.

Why? _Why_ did the person who was responsible for saving his life persist in running away from him? He didn't understand it.

Sure he knew that she must have known who he was whenever he walked into her office. She'd dropped clues here and there. Small ones like referring to his scar as exactly that. A scar.

So she must have known who he was as well as the secret of his other form. And if she had known, then she should understand just how _monumental_ a task it had been to heal him! After all, it was no small feat to _regenerate_ and _regrow_ a person's organs!

There weren't enough Recovery Girls in the whole entirety of the known _world_ that could do what Ichigo had done. And in one session too. Without straining or even exhausting herself. That was a damned _difficult_ thing to do for just about everyone with healing quirks.

The fact that someone so young had managed to do it was _beyond_ mind boggling. And the fact that she could do it with just a little bit of her blood too...

How could he _not_ thank her? Did she think he was some unfeeling bastard or something?

Seeing the clock strike time for his first class of the day, he muttered a few things underneath his breath as he slowly got to his feet and shuffled out of the office. Walking down the hall in his All Might form, he tended to tower over everyone and everything around him.

So it was fairly easy to spot Miss Kurosaki's dark hair almost automatically as the bell chimed for the students to change classes. Picking up his pace a little bit, he focused solely on her presence and nothing else for the moment. Which is how young Midoriya managed to sneak up on him.

"All Might!"

Toshinori jumped a little bit upon hearing someone say his name so loudly, and quickly turned and grabbed the boy and ducked around a corner at the same time Ichigo stopped walking and turned her head to see if he was there or not.

Once she was sure that he wasn't actually there, he saw her shrug her shoulders and start walking again. This time he managed to take note of the fact that she was wearing civilian clothing and had a small purse on her. So she must have been on her way off campus for something.

Muttering to himself in a frustrated tone, he seriously considered ditching his class and attempting to catch up with her. After all, with his speed he would be able to catch her fairly quickly. But if he did...he'd feel bad about ditching the kids. So maybe he could catch her before she went home?

Feeling small hands tugging at his jacket sleeve, he glanced down to find that poor Izuku's face was almost totally covered by his palm and paled a little bit before abruptly letting the boy go. The second that he did, Izuku took a few quick breaths and looked at him oddly.

"Sorry my boy."

"T-That's okay." The boy wheezed for a moment before finally straightening his back a little bit and asking hesitantly what he'd been doing before he'd grabbed him. Toshinori couldn't help the embarrassed blush that stained his cheeks at the boy's innocent question.

After all, how did a pro-hero like himself tell a child that looked up to him as much as young Midoriya did, he'd been more or less stalking someone? Especially since stalking was _illegal_.

"O-Oh uh...well..." _Think fast Toshinori! Lie! Lie to that innocent child to preserve his innocence! _"I-I thought that I saw-" Izuku cocked his head a little bit and gave him an odd look and to Toshinori's disappointment he couldn't lie to him. "I-I was chasing the new school doctor." He said as his shoulders slumped a little bit in defeat as he mentally cursed the boy's puppy dog stare.

It was a damned good thing that he wasn't a father. Because all his child would have to do is give him puppy dog eyes and he'd be putty in their teeny-tiny little hands.

"Why were you chasing the school doctor? Are you hurt?" The boy asked in alarm as his eyes started to flicker to Toshinori's previously injured side.

"No, no. Nothing like that. Believe it or not, my boy. The new school doctor is a miracle worker." He said as he leaned down a little bit to whisper in the boy's ear about his wound being healed by her.

Izuku listened as carefully as he could above all of the noise in the hall as everyone scrambled to get their books and stuff out of their lockers before running on to their classes. His eyes widening a fraction in_ shock_ and _awe_ as his hero/teacher/mentor told him that he wasn't injured anymore.

And as predicted by the man, his heir took about zero point two seconds to screech out. _"R-Really?! That's amazing All_ _Might!"_ Nearly causing every student still present in the hallways to come to an absolute stop and look at them both oddly as the blond to chuckle a little bit as the boy finally managed to quiet himself down and asked, "So if she healed you- why were you chasing her?"

"Well, as pitiful as it is to admit...I was trying to catch up to her to ask her how I can properly thank her for her help. After all, it isn't something that was small or un difficult to do otherwise I would have been healed years ago. But she keeps disappearing before I can properly thank her. So I'm sort of at a loss about what to do."

"Oh. O-Okay," Izuku said lamely, not knowing what else he could say about this strange situation that his favorite hero had found himself in. After all, he didn't know what he would do in such a situation. But he knew that All Might was right about healing his injury being no small or easy task. "Hey, maybe I can help you come up with something." He finally suggested to help ease his hero/teacher/mentor's mind a little bit.

After all, two minds were better than one. Right? And between the two of them, they should be able to come up with something really good.

All Might smiled at him and looked as if he were about to accept his offer when the bell rang and both of them screamed upon realizing that they were both late for their class.

* * *

Ichigo had only stepped outside of the building when she was ambushed by Nezu. "Going out?" The white furred little menace asked as he stepped in her way.

She looked down at him for a moment before deciding to ignore him as she moved to step around him. After all, he may have more or less _blackmailed_ her into working for him after seeing the video of her healing Chad when he'd been nearly torn to pieces by a villain. But where she came and went was none of his business unless it directly interfered with her work at the school.

She wasn't a _prisoner_. Though she often times felt like one with all the stupid security cameras and such watching her every move. And she refused to let him treat her like one.

"I've got my cell phone and pager. Let me know if you need me." Was all that she said as she started to walk away when she suddenly felt something delicate and metal snap into place around one of her wrists and froze up. Anger surging forth within her at an alarming rate.

_Oh dear god_\- _please don't let that be what it feels like it is._ She thought to herself as she slowly turned her head a little bit as she brought her arm up to look at the metal a little bit closer. It was _exactly_ what it looked like. Though she'd never seen a shackle that looked quite so...nice before.

"I know that you have you're other items. But this is simply a precaution in case something happens and you lose them," Nezu said in an unforgivably cheery tone. As if he hadn't just slapped a tracker on her like she was a fucking animal. "It has a small tracking device implanted in the mental. I had the bracelet designed specifically to look like a piece of jewelry so that it would throw suspicion off. I know that you don't like it. But _please_, try to understand."

"I take the safety and well being of the teachers, staff, and students of my school very seriously. And if you really think about it- then you know _why_ I can't allow you nor you're healing ability to fall into villainous hands. If anyone were to find out that you could heal irreparable damage- like organs, limbs and even terminal diseases- villains from all over the world would come to try and take you away from us."

Ichigo gritted her teeth as she glared down at him. Her mind already comprehending what he was saying. After all, it was something that she'd heard often enough since her retirement as a Soul Reaper. But it didn't excuse the way that he'd done it.

"A little warning would have been appreciated." She growled at him. Part of her wanted to beat the hell out of him and demand that he remove the bracelet from her wrist. But the more practical part of her understood both of their positions very well and could even understand the _necessity_ of the bracelet.

After all, not many people in the world who kidnapped someone would even bother to remove their jewelry- their pager and other mechanical devices sure. But not their victim's jewelry. Jewelry served no purpose beyond decoration. That was why hiding a tracking device in one was brilliant.

It also made retrieving her if someone grabbed her- much faster and easier on everyone. And easier to divert a possible disaster on her end.

"I understand. But you still should have warned me." She said in a calmer tone after a moment or so.

"I know. I apologize, but I didn't think that you would trust me enough to simply take it if I offered it to you." He said in a gentler tone. She blew out a puff of air as stared at him for a moment longer before muttering a begrudging sounding thanks and then waved at him and walked off.

* * *

The moment that Toshinori and Izuku reached the class, he moved to the front of the room and hesitated for a moment as he tried to think of a good lesion for the kids. However since Ichigo was still on his mind, he couldn't think of much of anything aside from maybe teaching the kids about Class A-B ranked quirks.

His own quirk, was a Class A quirk.

It was powerful, strong, and allowed him to do remarkable things that most people couldn't. And if he pegged Ichigo's own ability right. Then she also possessed a Class A quirk.

And though he didn't know much about it aside from it was something that she could use in several _different_ ways.

He had a quirk analyzer right here in the class that could help him to understand it better. Maybe once he had a better understanding of it- he could finally come up with something to properly thank the woman.

"Alright everyone. Today we'll be doing a break down of Class A-B quirks." He finally said as he walked over to the board and picked up the marker and popped the top off so that he could begin to list a few examples of Class A-B quirks. While the kids started to whisper amongst themselves in excitement.

He made sure to list his quirk as an example, as well as Shouta's, Midnight's, and even a few of their own before finally listing some of Ichigo's own abilities and then finally stepped back to study his work for a moment before then turning to the kids and started to ask his questions.

The kids were great. Each one taking the time to break down each of the abilities listed as examples and tell him how they worked before they moved on to Ichigo's abilities.

Now because there was a significant lag in information, most of what the kids came up with was merely speculation. But they were still brilliant guesses. And he listed each of them on the board and marked out the ones that didn't fit upon closer inspection until he finally thought that he had all of the blanks filled.

He was proud of his students. Truly he was.

But then young Midoriya lifted his hand and upon being called on, the boy slowly stood up looking pale and nervous and maybe even just a tad bit_ ill_ and slowly said, "Um, All Might, sir- I-If the uses of this specific healing quirk are even the slightest bit correct; then the person that possesses said quirk...should be in protective custody to prevent villains and others like them from gaining _access_ to it. Because if they did...there would be no stopping them."

"W-What?" Toshinori asked as alarm surged through him at the very thought of some villain getting their hands on Ichigo. He jumped up from his seat and took a moment to look at the board to make sure that the boy was right. If he was even a little bit then he would have to go and find Ichigo and drag her back to the school kicking and screaming.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on whom one bothered to ask- young Izuku was rarely wrong in his analysis of quirks. In fact, the boy tended to be a perfectionist when it came to his little hobby.

Which was what Toshinori was afraid of.

After double checking the boy's analysis with one of his own, Toshinori let out a string of foul oaths that seemed to startle everyone in his class as he quickly told them all that they were to study...something and write a ten page report on it and then quickly exited the room to go and look for Miss Kurosaki.


	3. Chapter 3

Ichigo was walking down the street several blocks away from the school next to a young man that was as tall as Toshinori was. He was built similar to his All Might form too, though he wasn't quite as impressive.

The two of them were side by side, chatting and joking with each other and for the life of Toshinori he didn't know what to do. He didn't exactly want to grab Miss Kurosaki and run off with her without any warning. That would be kidnapping. But at the same time, he also worried about what Izuku's analysis had revealed about her abilities.

He couldn't just leave her with her friend, unprotected. Could he?

After all, just because someone looked big and strong and intimidating didn't necessarily mean that they were able to fight. And what if the two of them got into some trouble? Who would save them?

Miss Kurosaki's young friend?

_No, no, no._ He thought as he shook his head vehemently. No, it was best to leave Miss Kurosaki's care in his very own capable hands. And with that firmly in mind, he stepped into an deserted alley and quickly assumed his smaller form so as not to attract quite so much unwanted attention and then stepped back out so that he could follow the pair as he shot Nezu a text stating that he would be unable to teach his other classes for a few hours.

Once Nezu sent him the thumbs up emoji, the game was on.

Making sure to keep a discreet distance from the two, he followed them into various shops, a movie theater where they watched a new horror movie that had recently come out- and had themselves a wonderfully fun time throwing popcorn at one another until Ichigo's friend decided to dump his tub of extra buttery popcorn over the young woman's head. Eliciting a shriek of outrage from her while her companion laughed.

Of course, the fact that the two seemed to be on a...date of sorts, didn't escape Toshinori's notice. After all, he was twenty eight. Not dead, blind, or _dumb_. Still...as weird as he felt following the couple around, he couldn't leave Miss Kurosaki alone.

The moment that the movie ended, Toshinori sighed in relief. If he had to listen to one more bad actress with big tits scream bloody murder, he would probably boycott the theater. And that would be bad since the people inside might lose their jobs over his protest.

Not to mention how it would affect every _other_ movie theater in Japan.

Watching the two stand up, he made out the vague drone of their voices mentioning a warehouse? And a spa? _What the_ _hell?_ What did a warehouse and a spa have to do with their date? He wondered curiously as he once again followed the two out of the building and back out into the street.

* * *

Ichigo and Chad had both noticed their not-so-little stalker early on. After all the guy didn't exactly blend in well, and were basically just wandering around visiting each other and having fun while leading the man around.

So far they had done some really cutsie and couple-ish things, mostly for funsies since neither of them had a significant other and they both tended to feel better about that while in the company of their single brethren. Besides, they didn't really get to see one another often due to Chad's busy schedule as a musician.

So whenever he got finished with his work, and managed to take some time off- he liked to show up and spend some time with her and some of the old gang. Though he tended to spend far more time with her than them due to old habits.

Which couldn't really be helped due to her present circumstances.

The moment that Chad had been approached by Nezu- he'd freaked the fuck out. And who could blame him. His carelessness had put her in the sights of someone who wanted to _use_ her and her abilities. Sure he wanted her to help save people and prevent irreparable harm to kids and such.

But it was still _using_ her. Especially since her blatant refusal hadn't meant anything to him. In fact, he'd threatened to have her thrown in prison if she didn't comply with his wishes.

Of course she hadn't at first.

Ichigo simply wasn't the type to be cowed by petty threats. If Nezu hadn't figured that out after having her arrested and spending a month behind bars, then he'd never figure _anything_ out. But he had. It had taken a month of Ichigo sitting behind bars. _Perturbed_ and _alone_. Isolated from the world and everything and everything important to her.

But he'd inevitably figured out the best way to get to her.

And he'd been an utter ruthless bastard about it too.

It was one thing to go after her- but the moment that he'd hinted about going after her dad and sisters. Her friends and those that she considered her extended family... He'd stupidly taken his life in his hands.

Chad had _seen_ the absolute devastation that Ichigo's temper had wrought televised on the evening news at two a.m. in the morning upon returning home from a gig. To be perfectly honest, Nezu must have pushed some really big buttons for Ichigo to make her damn near level a maximum security prison.

And yes, he had been concerned.

Though not nearly as concerned as Nezu had been. Chad wouldn't swear to it, but he was pretty sure that the moment Ichigo's temper flared up- he'd decided to not go after anyone else. And upon having his promise, written in blood on a contract stating that he'd let her skin him alive if he stepped out of line again- she had _reluctantly_ agreed to work for him.

But only because her temper tantrum had drawn unnecessary attention from the wrong sort of people and she didn't want to risk anyone getting to close to her more defenseless friends and family.

"Do you recall where the warehouse is?" Ichigo asked Chad after a while of walking in silence.

The warehouse was an old abandoned place at the edge of the city that Kisuke had purchased for her, as a gift, after she had moved to her current Musutafu. The reason for this was because he knew that Ichigo liked to keep up with her training.

Both professionally and non professionally as well as her Soul Reaper abilities.

After all, just because she had retired from the ranks didn't mean that she could let her power waste away. That was how accidents happened. Like accidentally letting her power leak out and unknowingly summoning Hollows, Menos Grande, and so on to her general location.

Such incidents put innocent bystander's in danger. And that was simply something that Ichigo _couldn't_ allow.

Chad nodded his head, recalling where the place was from previous visits. After all, it was where they went to work out and spar. It was also where he'd discovered that Ichigo was keeping some pretty nifty tricks up her sleeve as far as hand to hand combat went.

She'd always excelled at being able to fight. But to create her _own_ special form of martial arts. It was almost too much, even for him. He'd been trying to figure out how to combat against it ever since the first time she'd handed his ass to him with it.

"What do we do about that?" Chad asked, indicating their stalker. Ichigo merely grinned at him and reached out to pat him on his arm as she replied.

"Let him follow. He might find himself something scary." Causing Chad to snort and mutter something underneath his breath about terrifying women while Ichigo merely chuckled, her mind already going over how much fun this was going to be.

After all, it was going to be _hilarious_ to put the fear of god into the man known as the Symbol of Peace.


	4. Chapter 4

The warehouse mentioned between the two earlier, turned out to be an actual honest to god warehouse. Now this wasn't half as disturbing as the location of said building. Across the city, on the bad side of town. Where walking down the street in broad daylight means taking your own life into your hands.

Toshinori wasn't a easily frightened or shakable person. But even he balked somewhat at entering this side of town. At least not before he'd quickly said a prayer and crossed himself at least a dozen times for _luck_.

It was just that dangerous there.

And yet, here he was in his bulked up form- for obvious reasons now- walking behind Miss Kurosaki and her friend, watching the streets, and the people walking them because there were a lot of dangerous low life criminals and such just standing about all over the damned place.

Honestly, he doubted that a normal civilian could step outside their home on this side of town without bumping into someone malicous. And the even weirder thing about following the two here, was the _greetings_ called out to them. The ones called out to Miss Kurosaki were especially colorful.

And ranged from, 'Damn girl, where you been all my life?' to "When you gonna gimme a piece of that ass?' Though were far from the most colorful things called out to her by some of the men occupying some of the street corners.

In fact the worst thing that he'd heard, damn near had him choking from the shock of it. And that was before he reacted by quickly rendering the guy yelling such- such _terrible_ things to her unconscious. And then zipping into a nearby alley to_ stuff_ him into a cramped, metal garbage can with the rest of the trash.

"Saying such rude things to a young lady..." He muttered to himself in a dark tone. He hated men like this one. Men who could so easily disrespect a young woman and dehumanize her for their own enjoyment deserved a thorough thrashing in his book.

They were the bastards that gave his gender a bad rep. The sort that could easily rape, abuse, and even kill a woman after treating her as if she were little more than an _animal_ and feel absolutely nothing for it.

Toshinori hated such men with a passion that rivaled the burning of the sun.

If he ever decided to step outside of the law, it would be to rid the world of men like this.

Stepping back out of the alley once he was done, he checked the street for Miss Kurosaki and her friend and was relieved to see that they hadn't disappeared from sight just yet. So it would be easy for him to catch up to them.

Walking at a leisurely pace so as not to draw too much attention, even in his All Might form- was a difficult task. Like gargantuanly difficult. Mostly because he was so recognizable to everyone. Still, his reputation as a pro-hero is probably what kept anyone from crossing him as he continued his self appointed task until the couple finally reached the warehouse.

Once they were there, he was careful to infiltrate the place to see what was so damned important about it that the two would risk life and limb just to get here. Imagine his surprise to see the inside of the place was set up a lot like a gym.

There were punching bags, top of the line exercise equipment, weights, and a lot of other things that he half expected from a gym. Including a professionally set up _boxing_ ring.

"Okay, what do you want to work on first?" Ichigo asked once the lights had been turned on and she and her friend were moving along the stretch of open floor among the equipment and stuff.

"We could do a brief warm up and then spar until we drop." The big guy suggested. Earning a smile from the young woman as she moved over to a cabinet and opened it so that she could pull out some wrapping tape for them both and tossed one of rolls to him.

The guy caught the roll absently and started to roll his hands up while Toshinori spied Ichigo doing the same. Twenty minutes later, after a short warm up, the two were standing on opposite sides of a nice sized stretch of area that was set up for martial arts grappling and stuff. Both of them in defensive stances.

Toshinori's heart leapt up into his throat in both alarm and dread, because Miss Kurosaki couldn't possibly be going to spar with the guy. The guy could hurt her if she did. And she didn't seem like someone who would _purposely_ place her life, heath, and over all wellbeing in any unnecessary danger.

_Would she? _He wondered as the guy made the first move.

He was pretty fast. Toshinori noted in utter horror. The guy's speed could easily rival his own as far as civilian trained in hand to hand went. And though Toshinori wasn't exactly as lightening fast as his elderly master, Grand Torino.

His reflexes when it came to fighting were nothing to sneeze at either.

And that was the impression that he gave Toshinori. Whereas Ichigo was apparently deceptively fast as well as strong. Because holy shit- she not only managed to stop the guy's punch one handed, but she also managed to get in close enough to deliver a vicious right punch to his stomach.

The guy doubled over coughing and she backed off a little bit until he straightened up again, absently rubbing the spot that she had hit mere moments ago before nodding his head and saying. "Okay, if that's how you want it. I won't hold back."

"Okay." She said as the guy let out a battle cry and ran at her. Quickly tackling her to the floor and pinning her. Or at least he tried to pin her. Toshinori wasn't totally sure how she managed to escape him.

But he did see her manage to worm one of her legs up high on the guy's chest and then even higher still, and start to wrap it around his neck when the guy swore and quickly threw himself sideways and rolled a safe distance before quickly jumping back up to his feet again with a growl.

"No choke holds! The last time you managed to wrap you're legs around my neck I nearly died!"

"But what a way to go, huh." Ichigo jokingly said with a salacious smile that had her companion's jaw dropping open a little before he canted his head and his dark eyes drifted down towards her legs.

His expression going weird for a moment and Toshinori could almost _hear_ the thoughts the guy was having about her legs.

And Toshinori swore that if he so much as_ voiced_ such improper thoughts, he'd cave the small section of the warehouse's roof over the guy's head, down on him and render him unconscious too.

He wasn't sure what happened after that. Watching the two clash was downright _fascinating_. Seriously, he'd seen a lot of interesting things before in his life, but this- this was really something. He had no words to really describe it.

They exchanged blows back and forth, neither of them managing to lay the other out with a well placed OK. Which was strange considering the bone crushing force that they were both using. The guy was using his strength to his full advantage.

And Ichigo barely even bothered to deflect or dodge the blows at all. If anything she tended to simply take them head on and dish out her own form of brutality.

And it was brutal. Toshinori was nothing but an excellent judge as far as brutality went. The way that Ichigo wound up throwing her friend around was not only oddly disturbing and deeply terrifying but a tad bit arousing to him as well.

He'd always had a little bit of sweet spot for women that could give as good as they got. There was simply something unimaginably_ hot_ about a woman that could take care of herself. Maybe because it was the idea that someone of the female persuasion being able to handle him and his strength without breaking?

He'd never really had much of a chance to dwell on the thoughts and feelings that a strong woman could invoke in him before. He'd gotten hurt before he could even take an _interest_ in anyone. And with his dwindling health, he hadn't felt comfortable with leashing someone to him while in such a pitiful, and weakened state.

It simply hadn't seemed fair.

The guy was down by the time he was done dwelling on his weird thoughts, and Ichigo was moving to tear her wrist open with her fangs when her friend stopped her by grabbing her arm and drawing her attention to him as he said, "Nu-uh. You still need to get home after I leave you for today, and I don't want you making yourself dizzy or sick healing me."

"But-"

"_No_, Ichigo. Besides, I still have some of your blood back at the loft. I can just use it."

"But what if-"

"No means no. Accept it." He said as he slowly pushed himself up so that he was sitting, the hand griping her arm- slowly releasing her so that he could smooth her dark hair back from her face a little bit and flashed her a smile as she pouted a little bit.

"Fine." She said sullenly.

Her friend smiled a little bit wider and then said, "Sweet. Now gimme a hug." and held his arms out to her. Ichigo's eyes widened and she let out a playful shriek as she tried to scramble away from him.

_"Nooo! You're sweaty!" _


	5. Chapter 5

The two parted ways after that, after hugging each other and laughing at a couple of parting jokes. After which Miss Kurosaki got a strangely sad and wistful look on her pretty face and then turned and headed back towards the school. Only stopping once at a restaurant to grab a late dinner for herself since it was quickly growing late.

Once she was back outside again, Toshinori thought of maybe going ahead and leaving her for the evening. But figured that he should at least make sure that she made it home before he scampered off.

School had let out an hour in a half ago. So there was no point in him returning there to resume teaching today. And he hadn't been called to do any hero work just yet.

"Oh Mr. Stalker," Toshinori startled a little bit at hearing himself being called in such a way and froze up, feeling slightly panicked about being discovered and wondered if he should come out and pretend that he was just in the area patrolling or something. Though, he supposed that the fact that she already knew that he had been following her would negate his efforts to appear..._unstalker-ish_. "Come out, come out wherever you are!"

He stepped out of his hiding place, despite not really wanting too. After all, was it really considered cowardly to hide from the woman instead of facing her wrath?

"There you are." Ichigo said, her tone slightly softer than the one she'd used to get him out and into the open. "Did you have fun following me and Chad today?" It wasn't a real question. Though it sounded like one to him. So he knew better than to reply to it and dig himself any deeper.

"I did." He said after a few moments of careful deliberation. "He seems like a very nice young man." He finished with a smile.

She chuckled at his words and replied with a adoring, "He's the best." Something in his expression twisted a little bit, making his smile look more like a scowl now. Almost as if he didn't like the fact that she seemed to think that Chad was the 'best'.

He probably thought that she was in love with the boy.

"Its good to have such a significant other-"

Yup, he thought that she and Chad were dating. She wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh at him or call Chad up and tell him that they were apparently dating now. She was pretty sure that her friend would laugh himself silly.

He knew better than to date her anyways. Not only was she a high maintenance girl. But anyone crazy enough to _attach_ themselves to her would have to jump through an unbelievable amount of hoops due to her family and friends.

"Yeah, yeah I guess it is." She said in a slightly mischievous manner before then saying, "It's too bad that he _isn't_ mine."

Toshinori went utterly still again and simply stared at her wide eyed for a moment before stammering, "D-Did the two of you break up?" Ichigo snorted and shook her head at him and then moved to his side and grabbed a hold of his arm.

"Come on," She said all of a sudden. Deciding that a change in topic might be less strenuous on him since he looked scarily like he wanted to have a stroke or something. "You can be my dinner date for the evening. I've got at least a dozen burgers with a little bit of everything on em, six orders of chicken nuggets, seven large fries, four large onion rings, six large orders of cheese sticks, and four banana splits that are in desperate need of being eaten."

"Huh?" He finally said, uncertain about whether or not he'd heard her right.

"Thing you can help me whittle them down some?" She asked as she held up the large bag.

His eyes flickered to it for a moment, noting that it _did_ look more than a little bit full. And then wondered why she'd gotten so much stuff to begin with. Had she planned to buy him dinner since she discovered him following her and her friend?

Because he was still thinking that she was going to scream at him for daring to tail her on her outing. Still, even so- he found himself mutely nodding his head and watching as her face lit up a little bit. Her smile becoming more genuinely happy.

"Okay!" She chirped cheerfully. "Let's go find us a nice place to sit down and get started then." She started to step towards some benches that were set up along the side of the street for elderly people, couples and small children and he reached out almost on reflex and snagged one of her small hands in his own and stopped her.

She looked back at him for a second, her expression questioning as he said, "There's some tables set up in the park. We could go there." She nodded her head and allowed him to gently tug her along behind him as he started to lead her to the park. Seemingly unaware of the fact that he hadn't let go of her hand just yet.

* * *

_The park was beautiful this time of day._ Toshinori thought to himself as he led Ichigo along the small path that led to the dinning area. The sky was awash in vivid and lovely hues of blue, purple, orange, pink and yellow. The sun was partially hidden behind some clouds.

The sky was a lovely shade of pastel pink/blue.

This was one of his favorite places to be in the evening. Especially if he wasn't doing anything. He liked to come to the park and sit down in the dinning area and simply watch the sun set. In his opinion, the park had one of the most _gorgeous_ views in the whole city.

Second only to the rooftop of his home.

And that was why it made eating here so perfect. He just hoped that Ichigo liked it as much as he did.

Upon reaching one of the tables, he finally became aware of the fact that he was still holding her hand in his and abruptly released her as he flushed and stammered out an apology to her. He hadn't meant to continue holding her hand like that. But some foreign part of him had been incredibly reluctant to let her go, even for a short while.

She waved his apology off, like she tended to do many things that he did. Unbothered by the forwardness of the action, despite the fact that it had been unintentional on his part. Or maybe it was because it had been unintentional- that it hadn't bothered her any?

She sat down and set the bag of food down on the table between them and then looked at him expectantly when he didn't move. Hesitating slightly, he wondered if she would care if he sat himself beside her. But then slowly decided against it.

Not wanting to push his luck anymore than he already had. So he sat down across from her, and accidentally kicked her shin while trying to shift himself into a comfortable position.

She let out a small yelp and jumped a tad and he went completely and utterly still, his expression was likely akin to a deer-trapped-in-the-headlights of a speeding truck as he half expected her to retaliate by kicking him back or something. And wound up waiting for just that as she shifted a little bit and removed her legs from any possibly danger of being kicked again.

"Alright, let's eat." She said once her legs were out of his way.

"Yeah, yeah okay." He muttered nervously as she grabbed the bag and started to pull stuff out of it.

"I hope that you don't mind, but I didn't know how you liked your burgers much less anything else. So some of the burgers have a little bit of everything. Bacon, cheese, pickles, tomato, onion, lettuce, mayo, mustard, ketchup- I got a few different dips for the fries, chicken nuggets, onion rings and cheese sticks too."

"I'm not picky." He said after a moment or so. Wanting to assure her that he would eat just about anything whether he truly liked it or not. Especially after she had gone to such trouble to get him something that he might like.

He'd long grown out of any picky behavior that he might have exhibited when he was younger. So there was really no need for her to fret.

"You aren't allergic to banana's, strawberries and nuts. Right?" She asked as she pulled a couple of slightly melted banana splits out of the bag and checked them. His lips twitched in amusement for a second before he replied to tell her that he had no known food allergies.

She nodded her head and set a couple of the desserts in front of him before digging out a couple of plastic spoons. "Okay, grab whatever looks good to you." She said as she removed the bag from the table and made sure that it didn't blow away by trapping it underneath one of her legs as he looked everything over carefully before grabbing a couple of burgers, some chicken nuggets, and onion rings.

He would have grabbed one or two of the large cheese sticks, but he didn't fancy the idea of not being able to go to the bathroom for a few days.

Once he finished grabbing his half of the food, he watched from underneath his lashes as she did the same. She wouldn't have as much need for the food as he would. Which is the only reason that he could think of for the sheer amount of food that she'd bought.

It was sweet of her. Totally misguided.

_But sweet nevertheless._ He thought as he partially unwrapped one of his burgers and took a huge bite out of it as Ichigo started to eat some of her own food. Choosing to start with some fries, and cheese sticks.

It took him nearly five minutes to get fed up with the awkward silence and decide to strike up a conversation with her. "If I had known how amenable you would be over food- I might have tried to get you to eat lunch with me at work so that we could talk."

"I don't want you to thank me." She said automatically as her neon blue eyes flickered up to his face for a moment. A small frown working it's way across her face as he caught her eyes and held them for a moment.

"Why does the fact that I'm grateful bother you so much?" He asked curiously as he popped what was left of his burger into his mouth and slowly chewed.

"Probably because it makes me uncomfortable."

Swallowing what he had in his mouth, he asked. "Why?"

She gave him a small, half shrug of her and stuffed a few fries in her mouth so that she wouldn't have to answer him immediately.

No matter. He could wait.

He was nothing but a_ patient_ man, after all.

Once she managed to finally swallow what was in her mouth, she started to reach for something else when his hand shot out and wrapped around her own, stopping it as he asked again, gently, but insistently. "Why?"

"B-Because." It was an stupid answer. But it was easier to simply say, 'because' in an immature manner than to simply come out and tell him that she was used to people using her and not caring one way or another how she felt.

"That isn't an answer." He pointed out gently.

She opened her mouth for a moment to tell him that she knew that. That it wasn't any of his business what her reasons were- but her cell phone's Hollow alert went off and she suddenly found herself on her feet as she dug it out of her pant's pocket and looked at it.

"Oh damn." She muttered as anxiety coiled tightly within her gut. The Hollow was a Menos Grande, it's location was about three in a half miles away from the park. A shuddering breath left her lungs as her anxiety spiked dangerously. _Shit, shit, shit! What the hell was a fucking Menos doing here? _There weren't any Soul Reapers in the assigned to the city that she was aware of, everyone in the Soul Society had decided to try and steer clear of any city that she lived in so that she wouldn't be dragged into any of their business like she usually was.

Not out of cruelty, anger, hatred or neglect. But out of respect for her wishes to remain retired.

And because it was the city that she called her home, even if no one else came- it was her responsibility to protect it.

"Is something wrong?" Toshinori asked as he noted that her face had gone ashen and she looked more than a little bit ill as she slowly put her cell away and then gave him an apologetic look and then quickly thanked him for his company and then before he could say anything, ran off.

He sat there for several minutes in silence, his eyes staring blankly in the direction that she'd disappeared in as his own phone chimed to let him know that it was time to go to work. Apparently there had been a series of gas mains exploding several miles away.

Civilians were getting hurt.

Looking down at the food that Miss Kurosaki had been kind enough to get for him, he couldn't find it in himself to simply let it go to waste. So he quickly gathered everything up and changed into All Might.

Just because his dinner date hadn't gone well didn't mean that he should waste the kindness that Miss Kurosaki had showed him.


	6. Chapter 6

Dealing with something like the Menos was easy for her. Just because she did her absolute best not to use her Reaper powers didn't mean that she still didn't have them. Nor did it mean that she had let herself become soft over time. Her senses, and her power were still_ sharp_. Her zanbaktou, still as destructive as it had ever been.

Her bankai, was still lethal in all it's forms. Yes, dealing with the Menos was easy, disgustingly so given the fact that she was an old pro at it. The _All Might_ of the Reaper world herself.

It was the utter devastation and horror that the damned thing had left in it's wake that stole her breath and made her want to cry.

On the rooftop of a tall apartment building, she had a clear view of everything below. She could hear the shrill screams, the wailing of both the fearful people and the distant sirens of the emergency responders, ambulances, and police.

There were fires, below.

Buildings being eaten up by the ravenous red-orange tongues of destruction and death. She could hear the building's slowly being swallowed by them, creaking_ ominously_, before collapsing in on themselves.

She could hear the helpless cries of the people trapped within them. The screaming for help. For someone to save them, and she closed her eyes as she realized that with her healing ability- she was the ideal person to save those that still lived. And muttered bitterly, "I always knew that the people would bleed me dry one day- but this is _ridiculous_."

She wasn't wrong either.

She could already sense everyone that would need immediate medical attention within the buildings. Could sense the flames consuming some of them slowly.

Her regenerative ability would prevent her from dying. Her skin, hair, eyes, limbs and everything else would easily grow back regardless of the state that they fell into. Just like her ability would prevent smoke inhalation from killing her via suffocation.

She would probably wind up passed out somewhere though. And the uncomfortable thought of being in such a vulnerable state made her cringe.

Nezu was going to _lock_ her up in that damned school and forbid her from leaving anymore without a fully armed, and heroic escort from now on. Chad and the others were going to be pissed at her too.

But those were things that couldn't be helped right now. She had a job to do.

Backing away from the edge, she moved back as much as she could knowing that it would be easy to miscalculate the distance between her present location and the worst of the buildings. Especially if she was going to jump over to it and go from there.

If she went from the top of the building down, then theoretically, clearing the building should be easy.

Taking a slightly shaky breath, she tried to calm the frantic and frightened beating of her heart. But it was difficult given that one of the most ironic things about her- was that she was afraid of fire.

* * *

Chad had just reached his loft when the alarm on his cell went off. It had barely been an hour in a half since he'd separated from Ichigo which was why hearing the Hollow alert going off on his phone was so startling.

He knew that she was capable of taking care of the problem herself, but part of him couldn't help but feel..._anxious_. Worried maybe?

So after injecting himself with some of the blood that she'd given him for emergencies and stuff, he grabbed his keys and jacket and headed back out.

And it was a good thing that he did too. The moment that he pulled his motorcycle up to the end of the block where the Menos had appeared, he nearly had a heart attack. He'd seen some of the destruction that a Menos was capable of first hand.

But he'd never seen _anything_ quite like this before.

It was as if an earthquake had hit. Part of the street was caved in. Telephone poles, were down. The wires snapped in half and writhing around sparking dangerously.

There were fires- a couple of apartment buildings, stores and shops on both sides of the street- they were all _burning. _There was smoke and ash billowing and falling from the sky, and there were so many _people _littering the streets. Some were injured and crying for help. Some were in shock, dazed and confused.

Others had been separated from their friends and loved ones and were hastily searching for them. Screaming for them at the top of their lungs in between coughing fits.

And the few police and emergency responder's on the scene weren't doing anything to _help_ any of them. All they were doing was standing around and trying to block off the street.

"The shit..." He muttered as anger surged thorough him as he quickly climbed off of his bike and let the thing drop to the pavement instead of putting the stand down. His mind was too consumed by the chaos in front of him for him to care overly much about the possibility of scratched paint or something.

_How dare they._ How dare these trained professionals just block the street off and do absolutely_ nothing_ at all to get those people out of harms way. Were they fucking incompetent or something? Well no matter.

He would go and take care of the people since they were either too damned stupid or scared to do their damned jobs. Besides, he could already _feel_ Ichigo close by and knew that if he got himself into any trouble- that she would come and save him.

In the meantime, he had a job to do.

Tugging his helmet off as he started walking, he didn't even realize that he'd let it slip from his fingers to hit the pavement as he approached the barricade. He tended to get tunnel vision when it came to helping people in situations like the one that was in front of him.

So he had likely blocked out every sound, and sight that his mind didn't deem _important_ at the moment.

He was quick to jump the barricade, despite the fact that several people tried to grab him and stop him. He wasn't even really aware of one of the officers crossing the barricade to run and get in front of him until the guy had put his hands on him and was trying to force him back.

"Sir! Sir you can't go in there! It's too dangerous!" The guy yelled at him. But Chad was having none of it. He grabbed the guy's wrists in both of his hands and pushed them back until the officer cried out and fell to his knees just to keep his wrists from being snapped as Chad glared down at him and snarled.

"Don't you dare try and stop me." The officer blinked back tears for a moment and said nothing as Chad abruptly released him and walked off, leaving him on his knees on the street to do a job that wasn't even his.

The first thing that he did, was grab almost a dozen people that were wandering around and injured. After which he carried them all back to the barricade and left them with the police officers and then ran back to collect some more.

He did this several times. Seven. Maybe eight.

And each time he returned with more and more people- the police started to tell him to hang on, that the heroes had been called and were on their way to help. Chad didn't know what the hell they were talking about. There was already _one_ hero present on the scene and really she was the only one that mattered to him.

Already he'd caught sight of her four times.

And in the four times he'd seen her, he seen her lips stained crimson with blood.

Her hands, and both of her wrists and forearms were missing chunks from where she'd bitten through the flesh and forgotten to release it. _Ripping_ the flesh and some of the muscle away instead of simply opening a small wound or two to use to help heal some of the people that she'd carried out of the burning buildings.

Making his way back towards where he'd last seen her, he reached the building that she was clearing just in time to hear it creak and begin to collapse.

_"No!_" He shouted in alarm as he ran forward without thinking. He reached the door of the building just in time to catch some of the heavy, burning debris on his forearms and shoulders and steeled himself to hold it up as long as it took for Ichigo to clear the building.

He stayed in place for he didn't know how long, the flames were already burning through his jacket and even licking along his cheek and the underside of his chin. He violently twitched a little bit in an effort to get the flame away from his face since it was making it kind of hard to breathe, but otherwise didn't bother to move.

It was around this time that All Might appeared. The cheesy line, "There's no need to fear, for I am here!" Being said in his booming voice as he took a moment to look at Chad, standing there like a lump on a log- on fire and quickly moved to retrieve him.

The blond man's large hands moved to grab the burning wood and remove it from Chad's arms and shoulders but his voice sharply saying, _"Don't!"_ Gave the hero pause.

"Y-Young man?"

"Don't remove them, Ichigo is in the building and will have to come this way to get out." Chad said quickly. The hero's expression shifted ever so slightly, his blue eyes narrowing at him before he asked,

"She's inside there? In that inferno?"

Chad nodded his head curtly before then saying, "The two of us have been clearing the street and helping the injured. She's presently trying to clear what's left of the people from the inside of the building."

"I'll go and get her so that you can get out before you get hurt anymore than you already are then."

"You don't have too. She's already heading back down."

All Might looked as if he didn't know what to think, much less say to him at the moment. So instead he took a few seconds to pat out the flames licking along Chad's skin and clothing and then took hold of some of the debris and held some of it up over his head to help alleviate some of the bone crushing weight that he'd been holding up.

The relief that Chad felt upon receiving his help was instant. He was able to breathe deeply again without hurting himself. The bruises forming from where the debris had hit him earlier when it had fallen on him, throbbed and ached. He could hear Ichigo moving closer, her feet shuffling tiredly as she spoke in low soothing tones to someone with her.

All Might must have noticed the way that he turned his head to look in her direction, because he did the same thing at the same time she appeared several feet away with three small kids and a forty something year old woman with a baby tightly clutched to her chest.

"Okay everyone, ground floor. Let's get the hell out of here." Ichigo said tiredly as she bent down and grabbed two of the younger kids and picked them up while the third one clutched at the hem of her shirt anxiously.

The woman with the baby was the first one to get out of the building and onto the street, and she was followed by the oldest child who had reluctantly released Ichigo's shirt to run outside. Leaving the other two children to be carried out by Ichigo before they were placed on the ground.

All Might held the debris up off of Chad a few moments longer before the two of them quickly followed the others out. Once the two were clear of the building, All Might noted how tired Miss Kurasaki and her friend both looked.

The boy would live, he was sure. Though a trip to the hospital might do him some good to get his injuries taken care of for the time being.

Ichigo on the other hand, was pale underneath the soot and ashes smeared on her skin. Her hair was singed in several places and her clothing was torn and bloody. Her hands and arms were both injured too. Though he couldn't exactly see where.

The kids went off with the woman to get checked out by some paramedics behind the barricade as Chad moved to help Ichigo as she weaved a little bit where she stood. All Might looked around a little bit before asking, "Was there anyone else in the building?" If so, then he would try to make an attempt to retrieve them on his own.

"No one still alive." Ichigo said as she leaned heavily against her friend's torso.

All Might simply nodded his head in understanding and cast a grim look towards the burning remains of the building. It looked as if he'd be taking part in digging bodies out.

It was sad that such a thing had happened.

But there was little that anyone could do for the people who had died now. Casting a concerned glace towards the couple, he thinned his lips for a moment and then walked over to them and carefully took Miss Kurosaki from the boy and scooped her up in his arms.

"Follow me." He said as he headed through the smoke, back towards the nearest unoccupied ambulance. He'd get the paramedic's to look at these two and then give them instructions to have them sent straight to the hospital nearest to UA. After that, someone from there would have to call principal Nezu and inform him about Miss Kurosaki's condition.

He would be busy trying to help with the aftermath of this disaster, but would be by the hospital later to check on the two.


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't know if this chap made any sense towards the end. Also- I may wind up changing the name of this story to The Vow, or Giving Her What She Needs.**

* * *

Once the fires were out, it only took Toshinori and several other heroes an hour or two to dig out the few people that had died in the fires. The death toll was significantly _lower_ than he had expected it to be considering that only five bodies had been found in the ruins. Probably partially due to Miss Kurosaki and her friend, Chad's efforts.

Still, it was impressive considering that three buildings capable of housing over a _hundred_ small families each, had burned. He and the other heroes, not to mention the volunteers helping them had expected at least fifty bodies to be recovered.

So...color him impressed.

Once the bodies had been recovered and sent off to the local morgues, and the ruins had been double checked to make sure that no one had missed anything. Everyone called it a day to go back to their individual lives/work.

Toshinroi himself had gone home to clean up a little bit. Call him crazy but he didn't feel right about showing up to the hospital that he'd asked Miss Kurosaki and her friend to be delivered to for medical treatment smelling of smoke, charred flesh, and the coppery tang of blood.

A couple of the bodies that he'd helped to dig out of the smoldering ruins had been total messes that would have to be identified by dental records. And the smell of them had been utterly stomach churning.

He'd had to bite down hard on the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from giving in to the temptation of vomiting.

Once he was sure that he'd cleaned the smell of the bodies off of him, and only after he'd used up three bottles of his favorite body wash, two bars of soap, and two of his shampoo- he stepped out of his shower and then quickly dried off and then dressed and then headed back out the door.

The walk to the hospital wasn't exactly quiet.

Mostly because he hadn't bothered to go back out in his smaller form.

He was still in his muscular form, and as such a _lot_ of civilians who were fans walked up to him and thanked him for his work and such. He put up with it despite his sad, and depressed mood. Not wanting to upset or disappoint his fans any, and simply kept going once they went on their way.

He stopped briefly at a flower shop to get some nice flowers for Miss Kurosaki and even a small vase with a nice rose or two for her friend- because he'd been hurt trying to help too- before going on to the hospital.

Once at his destination, he walked up to a nurses station and asked about Miss Kurosaki's whereabouts and condition and learned that she had been admitted to the hospital from blood loss and exhaustion before being given a room number. Once he had her room number, he nodded and thanked the woman for telling him and then headed up to the third floor.

She was asleep when he got there. And shockingly enough, her friend was sitting in the room with her. His chin and face had been treated for the burns that he'd suffered, and his arms and torso had probably been treated too, though his shirt and semi burned jacket hid those parts of his body and made it difficult for Toshinori to tell.

Knocking softly on the door to announce himself, he waited until the younger man was looking in his direction before he bothered to even step into the room.

"How are the two of you?" Was the first thing that he managed to ask as he walked over and abruptly handed the young man his little vase of roses. Chad blinked at the small object but took them from him anyways with a soft thank you before then saying.

"I'm fine. I injected myself with Ichigo's blood before I left my home. So I should heal up in the next hour or so. Ichigo though...she spread herself too thin. She had to have a blood transfusion to replenish what she used up. Her arms and hands are healing up. Just _slowly_. The doctor treating her gave her something to help her sleep through the worst of any pain that she's feeling from where she tore her arms up with her fangs. She also has some burns and bruises here and there. But they're superficial at best and should heal up along with her hands and arms."

Toshinori nodded his head, mutely as he moved to place the large vase of flowers that he'd gotten for her on the small bedside table as he said, "I'm glad that you're both alright. I was worried." Before then saying. "But...even so, what you both did was incredibly _reckless_."

Chad shrugged his shoulders, not really caring for his opinion. He and Ichigo had only done what was right. If they hadn't...then the number of lives lost would have _quadrupled_. Though he didn't bother telling the man that since he either didn't seem to know that already, or care for that matter.

"You both could have been injured severely-" The blond said. He sounded as if he were lecturing a naughty child and it irked Chad a little bit that the man would dare to lecture him about what he and Ichigo had done._ The arrogance of this_ _man is astounding._ He thought as he said.

"We would have healed."

"You could have even died." The blond said, his tone sounding more and more angry by the moment.

"Ichigo wouldn't allow me to _die_. And her ability would have prevented her from dying regardless of how bad her injuries were. So you're argument is a moot point." Chad wasn't trying to worry the man or upset him any further. Truly he wasn't. He was just being honest.

Especially since he was pretty sure that the hero knew very little about how Ichigo's regenerative ability really worked. After all, she'd literally died at least a dozen times already. And she always, _always_ came back.

"You act as if she is a god." Toshinori said as he cocked his head and regarded the younger man through slightly narrowed eyes.

"No. She isn't a god."

In all technicality...Ichigo was much _more_ than a god thanks to her years of work as a Soul Reaper, and the previously unprecedented level of power that she'd achieved as one of the living. But Chad wasn't going to point out what was obvious to him. Especially since the hero wouldn't understand what he was trying to say anyways.

"Glad that we at least agree on _something_." The blond said sarcastically as he glared at him for a moment before finally blurting out, "I'm not sure that I like you very much."

"That's alright. I'm not sure that I like you very much either."

"I'm not sure that I approve of Miss Kurosaki being friends with you either."

Chad rolled his eyes at the audacity of the man. As if he had any say whatsoever in who Ichigo was friends with. She didn't need his fucking approval- he didn't own her and she was her own person- thank you very much.

"Then it's a good thing that your permission, approval, and opinion mean nothing to either of us." Chad finally snapped at the blond. The two lapsed back into silence as they glared at one another. However their glaring match ended when Ichigo stirred a little bit.

"Chad?"

"I'm here." The younger man said as he jumped up out of his seat and moved to stand next to her as she reached out with her hand. Grabbing her hand in his own, he slouched a little bit so that he could press his mouth to her knuckles for a moment as she muttered sleepily.

"Don't fight with my co-workers. Don't want em mad at me..."

"I don't think anyone can stay mad at you, Ichigo. You're too damned sweet."

She let out a breathy sounding laugh and muttered, "Liar." And then seemed to drift back off again. Chad stood there for a few seconds just holding her hand before slowly placing it back on her stomach and then taking a few seconds to fuss with the blanket to make sure that she wouldn't be too cold.

Toshinori watched him silently, uncertain about what else to say. He wasn't kidding when he said that he didn't like the younger man. Though he wasn't sure why his presence near Miss Kurosaki seemed to bother him so damned much. It was almost as if he were jealous of him.

But that couldn't be. Could it?


	8. Chapter 8

Chad didn't stay for much longer after that. He probably found being in close proximity to Toshinori to be quite grating on his nerves. A sentiment that was shared by the blond man.

Before he left though, the younger man did however mention to him that Ichigo had told him about healing him and how he'd been trying to figure out a way to_ repay_ her. He told him that killing her with kindness wouldn't work. She'd just think that he was after something and would dig in her heels and become even more stubborn than she already was about not being repaid.

He did however say that if Toshinori really wanted to show her his gratitude, then he should try giving her what she needed.

He didn't elaborate, didn't bother to explain anything- and to be perfectly honest, Toshinori was confused by what he meant as he just shot him a big feral grin and then wished him luck. Though Toshinori was pretty sure that he was being sarcastic about the whole 'luck' thing.

The younger man gave him the impression that he'd love nothing more than to see him _fail_. Luckily for him, Toshinori tended to excel at everything that he put his mind to. And he fully intended to succeed in this endeavor as well.

So Chad could just kiss his ass.

Of course as soon as he thought that, he inwardly cringed at his own hostile behavior towards the other man. Mainly because he realized that he was acting oddly possessive and maybe just a tad bit overprotective of Miss Kurosaki. Though he didn't really understand why.

Ichigo had mentioned that the two of them weren't a couple.

But earlier when she'd stirred, her friend had moved to take her hand and even kiss the back of it in an strangely affectionate manner. It had left Toshinori feeling like he was intruding on something intimate between the two. Like a peeping tom or something. And perhaps in a manner of speaking, he was.

He just...didn't know what exactly _why_ he felt that way.

So now here he was, more or less alone with Miss Kurosaki as she slept, wondering what the hell Chad had even meant about giving the woman what she needed.

What exactly was she without? She had a great job. Heroic co-workers that most people would kill to be close too.

She had a miraculous healing ability. She was kind, courageous, fierce, strong- and certainly had many other attributes that made a _wonderful_ hero. He was only just a little bit puzzled by the fact that she didn't have a hero license, or even a probationary license.

A little tid-bit that he'd discovered on accident from Nezu, the day after she had healed him, when he'd accidentally overheard him speaking to Aizawa about her.

He'd found the fact that Miss Kurosaki was essentially a civilian, interesting. Doubly so due to the fact that she was the school's new doctor. But after having her heal him first hand, and experiencing her power for himself... Well, he now had a much better understand of _why_ Nezu had hired her.

And then there was what young Midoriya had pointed out to him during class yesterday.

He couldn't help but wonder if that also had something to do with Nezu hiring her. But that was neither here nor there for now. He needed to focus on his earlier question._ What did she need?_

The first thing that came to mind when he looked at her, was an armed, and heroic protection detail for whenever she left the school grounds. He wasn't exactly ashamed to admit that this whole fiasco had left him feeling slightly rattled. Especially given her present condition.

Such vulnerability in the presence of the wrong person could lead to _disaster_. Which was just one reason why he hadn't left to go home and get some rest just yet. Another reason was that he was worried about what might happen if he _did_ leave.

Would she get up and try to leave the hospital before being fully recovered? He'd like to say no. But again, he didn't know her well enough to really make an educated guess. He also sort of felt as if he couldn't trust her young friend with her too.

He seemed like the doting type. And that meant that she likely had him wrapped around her little finger. Which wasn't exactly a bad thing... Until it was.

He made a soft humming sound as his blue eyes locked on her face for a moment before he heard a knock on her door. Snapping his gaze away from her, he turned his head to the person entering. Half expecting a doctor or nurse and instead was met with the sight of Nezu and Aizawa.

"How is she?" Nezu asked very softly as he slowly entered the room. Toshinori sat up a little bit straighter in his chair and finally replied.

"Weak from blood loss and exhaustion. But other than that, she's fine."

Nezu nodded his head almost curtly as he slowly meandered over to Ichigo's side and hesitated for a moment before reaching for one of her hands. Taking note of the bandages wrapped around her hand, wrist and forearm before asking. "She used her healing ability?"

"Yes. I believe so." Toshinori confirmed.

"I see." Was all that Nezu said.

His expression thoughtful as Aizawa said in a sour tone, "No wonder people are already calling U.A and demanding to see the 'miracle woman'."

"People are already calling us about her?"

"Yes. They want to meet her, interview her, have her come to their homes and hospitals to heal people-"

"That doesn't sound-"

"Good?" Nezu supplied helpfully. Toshinori nodded his head a little bit. "That's because it isn't. When I hired Ichigo, it was to protect her and her ability from being taken advantage up by the more unsavory people of the world. Her little act of heroics has opened a can of worms that will be _difficult_ to get under control, much less outright ignore."

"What do you plan to do then?"

"I can't allow Ichigo to be _exposed _to the world. The wrong kind of attention will paint a target on her back. And with her abilities...having her exposed to the wrong person could be detrimental to her safety and well being."

"She'll have to stay under lock and key for a while. At least until all of the media attention dies down." Aizawa said, already looking utterly_ peeved_ at the prospect. It was bad enough that he was a pro Toshinori/All Might wrangler/teacher. He didn't want to be a stupid girl wrangler too.

He was super busy teaching at the school and with work. He barely had any time for his precious naps as it was already!

"I agree," Nezu said reluctantly. "She'll have to stay out of the public eye for a while. She may even have to move to a different location to live, just to be on the safe side. After all, she lives alone several blocks from here. And anyone with pictures of her could have plastered her face all over the news already. So it might be unsafe for her to return home for a while."

Toshinori nodded his head in understanding as the three of them hashed out a plan of action before Nezu ordered him to stay close to her for the time being, and protect her. While he went ahead with getting everything else sorted before he and Aizawa both left.


	9. Chapter 9

A day in a half later-

To say that Ichigo was displeased by her new situation would be a gross understatement.

There was a tantrum brewing in her the likes of which the world had _never_ seen before and likely wouldn't ever again as All Might pushed her out of the hospital in a wheel chair. And up to the waiting car that he'd arranged to take them both to her new home.

The simplest thing that she could say about Nezu at present was that she was going to _skin_ the little furry bastard alive the first chance that she got, once All Might's back was finally turned.

Actually scratch that- she was going to rip him to shreds! Why you ask? Because the furry little devil had paid her a visit yesterday afternoon to _inform_\- not ask, not tell, but inform- her that she wouldn't be returning to her home once she was released from the hospital.

The lives of the people that she had saved the other day had caused quite a sensation, apparently. And now people from all over the city were asking/demanding to meet with her for one reason or another.

Which wouldn't have been quite so bad.

If not for the sheer amount of people, civilian, military, yakuza, politician, and villain alike who were _all_ demanding that Nezu bring her forth to heal _someone_. Or even several someone's, rather.

So no- she wouldn't be going home.

She had been informed, _again_, that she would be living in a secure location with a pro-hero close by to act as her bodyguard. And then he'd gone on to tell her that she would be staying with Japan's number one hero for an undisclosed amount of time. Which had upset her. While All Might had looked downright giddy with excitement at the prospect of having her live with him for who knew how long.

It had been on the tip of her tongue to spit something particularly foul at the man. But she had held back, knowing that there was at least _some_ logic to Nezu's plans. Though she was absolutely loath to admit it even to herself. It didn't make things any easier on her though.

Even she knew that her new home- it was just a nicer term for prison. Which was a goddamned _outrage_. I mean how _dare_ Nezu and the oaf just decide out of the blue to move her out of her sanctuary/home and into... All Might's home.

Did no one understand that she was more or less a hermit by choice?

Besides if she absolutely needed a different place to live for a while, she could have just moved in with Chad. It wasn't as if he'd mind having her around any. The man practically loved to be close to her anyways. Sure, he always joked about his reason being because she couldn't keep herself out of trouble.

But even she knew better than to totally believe that _nonsense_. Even if he wasn't entirely wrong.

"Here we are." All Might said. His normally loud and booming voice was strangely quiet, as they reached the car.

Maybe because he knew that she was in no mood for his foolishness. Or maybe he was simply being quieter than usual because he was _trying_ to be considerate of the fact that she had a headache already.

Whatever the reason, she was a bit grateful to him as she started to stand up to get out of the wheel chair when he held a large hand out to her and waited patiently for her to take it. Apparently the man must have thought that she was an total invalid that needed to be handled carefully or something. He had every intention of helping her into the car.

Glaring at his hand for a moment, she was reluctant to take it. Mostly because doing so would be like admitting weakness of some sort. He wiggled his fingers at her, causing her to jump a little bit as he suddenly said coaxingly, "It's alright to take my hand you know. It doesn't bite."

Finally growing frustrated with everything- him, Nezu's crap, everyone's demands of her to use her abilities, being forced to live with someone she didn't know- she grit her teeth and let out a loud growl of annoyance as she reached out and slipped her hand in his.

He beamed at her and for a split second she wanted so, so very _badly_ to throw him over her shoulder and simply walk off. But she knew that if she did, Nezu might very well retaliate somehow by going after her family. So she refrained, and allowed the blond man to gently help her into the back of the car and then quickly followed her inside.

Watching the man fold his body to fit the slight space was a mindboggling spectacle. At least in her opinion anyways. She was even pretty sure that she wound up gaping at him for several heartbeats as the car pulled away from the hospital and onto the street.

Finally in a slightly comfortable position, All Might shifted his attention to her and slowly said. "I know that you aren't happy with your present circumstances..."

That was an understatement. But she held her tongue so that she could listen to what he had to say anyways.

"And while I don't totally agree with the way that Nezu has handled things so far; I know that you likely want as much privacy as possible. So...despite the fact that we'll be sharing close quarters for a while. I converted a part of my home into an apartment of sorts to give you what you need since I want you to be comfortable."

"You're also free to come and go as you like. Just as long as you let someone know where you're going and such. Or as long as you carry a tracker on you. Outside of that, I have no rules that I need you to follow. Just...let me know if you need something or if you don't feel safe. Okay?"

Shit. How can she stay pissed at him for his part in things if he's trying so hard to be considerate? She wondered as she stared at him for a moment or so before saying, "Thanks. My friends will likely want to pop in to visit."

He smiled a little bit and nodded his head in understanding. "I would imagine so considering that they would want to make sure that you haven't been chained up in my basement or something."

He meant it as a joke. Just something that was meant to be harmless and a little bit amusing.

But even so she couldn't stop the automatic flinch that occurred at the memories that the words conjured of the last time that she'd seen Aizen.

Nausea churned in her stomach and she turned her face to the side in the hopes that he hadn't noticed the sudden change in her demeaner, but All Might had been trained to read a person's body language for the slightest hint of _distress_.

Not only that but he had noticed her flinch. It was difficult for him not to notice the way that she had recoiled upon hearing his words. And though he didn't say anything or ask her what was wrong, he made a mental note of her reaction so that he could ask one of her friends or even Nezu about it at a later date.


	10. Chapter 10

Upon reaching his home, Toshinori waited patiently for Ichigo to finish looking over his decently sized two story mansion before he helped her out of the car. And then moved to unlock the front door so that he could take her inside. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't at least a little bit anxious or nervous about having her stay so close to him.

But it wasn't for the reasons that one might think.

Miss Kurosaki was a _very_ lovely young lady.

One that he had already noticed in the way that a man notices a woman. Which...was awkward for him to say the least. Especially since he rarely bothered to really speak to, or even get to know women overly much.

He certainly hadn't dated anyone in a long time.

And as much as he knew that she wasn't there for him, he still couldn't help but wonder if perhaps being in such close proximity would maybe bring them closer in some way. It didn't have to be as lovers. Though he seriously doubted that he'd turn her down if that was what she wanted.

He'd be happy with just having her as a possible friend instead.

As long as she was happy, then who was he to argue?

Once the door was unlocked, he opened it and stood back so that she could enter before him before he slowly followed her in and quietly closed the door.

"You have a nice home." Ichigo said as she took a moment to look over what she could see.

His home _was_ nice, and reflected the man himself. The walls were a warm, pastel colored yellow with soft green accents. There were pretty, eye catching floral watercolor paintings in various shades of pink, blue, purple and yellow artfully hung on the walls, and photographs of him and his friends sitting on some shelves just inside of his living room.

He blushed a little bit at the compliment and smiled as he stepped into her personal space a little bit and said, "Thank you. I try to keep it nice."

"I can tell," She said absently, noting that there wasn't any dust anywhere. "You must have one hell of a cleaning regime."

"I-I do," He said before clearing his throat awkwardly and then softly muttering, "Please, come this way. I'll show you where you'll be staying." As he brushed past her and started walking down the hallway. She balked for a moment before quietly falling into step behind him.

He led her down the hall and to the back of the house before pausing next to a door and waiting patiently for her to wander over. "I hope that you like it," He said almost bashfully. "I had to put in a rush order with some construction workers just to get it all done before today." Reaching out, he grasped the door knob and turned it as he used his other hand to push the door open so that she could see inside.

The apartment that he'd had made for her was pretty cozy, if he did say so himself.

And it came with it's own living room, study/hobby room, a spacious bedroom, a nice bathroom, a kitchen and laundry room. All of which were completely furnished with the nicest, softest pieces of furniture that he'd managed to find.

Ichigo stepped inside of her new 'home' with more than a little bit of trepidation. However the place was shockingly nice. The walls were painted a nice cream color with some blue and aqua colored borders and accents. Some of the furniture that she noted were new, and expensive pieces.

While others- like the shelves, lamps, and entertainment center were hers.

"You raided my home." It wasn't a question. But he hesitated to reply anyways due to the fact that he didn't want her to get any angrier about..._everything_ than she already was.

"I...uh y-yeah. I didn't know what all you would need from your home so...I got some of your stuff and used it because I thought that it would make you feel a little bit more at home."

She made a humming sound, but otherwise didn't comment as she moved around the room checking this and that. She could already tell that the new coffee tables, chairs, couch and the plasma screen TV weren't hers. And while she would have a bone to pick with him over those, she was mighty curious about what else he had removed from her home.

_How many liberties did the man take with my things?_ She wondered as she wandered into the bedroom, noting pretty much automatically that the huge bed in there wasn't hers either._ Nothing_ that she owned still had a price tag on it. And neither were the mint green and aqua satin sheets, and throw pillows nor the cream covered comforter with pale pink and mint green flowering vines.

Sighing, she tore the price tag off of one of the bed, and then went to check the dresser- if he'd touched her frigging clothes- she'd _murder_ him. She silently vowed as she pulled the fist dresser drawer out. Luckily- or unluckily, depending on who one asked- the dresser was full of new stuff that she'd never seen before.

She nearly sagged with relief for a knowing that he hadn't touched her clothing.

Of course that was before she groaned and sank to the floor with a sapphire blue PJ shirt clutched in one hand. No- he hadn't touched her stuff. Instead, he'd bought her a whole _new_ goddamned wardrobe!

Hearing the rustling of clothing, she looked up as he poked his head into the bedroom and blinked down at her before then frowning.

"Are you alright?" He asked, looking worried.

"Y-You bought me another wardrobe."

"Yeah, I...didn't exactly feel right about touching your actual clothes. And I couldn't very well let you run around here _without_ any. So I had to improvise." He said awkwardly before then asking in a slightly alarmed tone, "Do you not like them?"

"They're fine. I just...feel a little bit overwhelmed."

He didn't say anything, because really _what_ could he say? He could only imagine how she felt at the moment. And given her initial displeasure about the situation, nothing he came up with was good or very flattering.

"You look tired. Do you want to rest for a bit?"

"No. I'm fine." She said as she slowly got back up and set the shirt down on top of the dresser. "I think I'm going to finish looking around. If there's something that you need to do, then you should go on and do it."

"I don't have anything to do. I'm supposed to be your bodyguard, remember?"

She sighed and gave him a resigned look from over her shoulder, that alarmed him a little bit as she wandered into the bathroom to look at it. No one should ever have such a look on their face in his opinion.

Especially not her.

And once she returned from the bathroom, Toshinori excused himself to go and...see if he could come up with something to maybe make her feel a little bit better.

* * *

A little while later in the day-

After taking a shower, and pulling on one of her new PJ sets. Ichigo sat on her new couch flipping through the channels on her new TV with a slight frown. Despite wanting to have something to entertain her, like a movie or mini-series or something, she wasn't finding anything that she felt was worth watching.

And as she went to turn the TV off, she heard a soft knock at the door that separated her new living space with Toshinori's own. Heaving a sigh because the events of the day were finally wearing her down, she wasn't sure if she should see what he wanted.

But finally decided on checking anyways since she didn't want to be rude. I mean, it was the guy's home after all. She was just there until Nezu gave her the okay to go back to her home again.

Getting up, she walked over to the door and turned the knob and let the door swing open a little bit.

Toshinori froze and pasted on a awkward smile.

"Uh...hi."

"Hi."

"I was just wondering how you were settling in." The fact that he was holding two pizza boxes, a bottle of red wine and a bag full of movies told her otherwise. But whatever. She'd play along for the moment.

"I was just looking for something to watch."

"Have you eaten anything yet?"

"No. I don't really feel up to cooking at the moment." She replied with a slight shrug. He nodded his head in understanding.

"No, I suppose that given today's event's you would be quite tired..."

"If you have something to say then just say it." Ichigo finally said, getting bored.

"Uh...well, I thought that maybe we could eat dinner and maybe watch some movies together? If you're feeling up to it. If you aren't then I can just leave a pizza with you and-" He yelped as her hand took hold of his shirt and she pulled him into her little 'apartment' and quietly shut the door once he was inside.


	11. Chapter 11

"Have a seat." Ichigo said politely as she brushed by him and made a beeline for the kitchen to grab some plates and a couple of glasses. Toshinori's hand shot out and caught her wrist, tugging her to a halt before she could get very far though.

Curious, she turned her head to look at him for a second and frowned when the man quickly retracted his hand and started stammering out an apology for grabbing her so suddenly.

"S-Sorry! I-I didn't m-mean to d-do that." He said frantically before then clearing his throat and said in a calmer tone, "I mean, you're still probably tired so why don't you sit back down. And I'll go and grab some plates and glasses for us."

She regarded him silently for an uncomfortable heartbeat or two, and then nodded her head. He smiled at her and set everything down on the coffee table and then quickly scampered off to do as he had said as she sat back down and curiously peeked into the bag full of movies to see what he had.

She was so caught up in checking out the films that she totally missed him sneaking up on her when he returned to the room.

"These are all American films," She muttered to herself as she shifted through them while trying to stay quiet enough not to let him know that she was snooping through his stuff. "Jaws, Cabin in the Woods, House on Haunted Hill, Night of the Living Dead, Evil Dead, Gran Torino, Die Hard, Battleship, Unstoppable, the new Star Trek movies." He also had a couple of TV series box sets too. "Star-gate SG1, Buffy the Vampire Slayer...TMNT's, and Danny Phantom- _What the hell?_"

_Why are his TV and movie options so weird?_ She wondered.

"See something you like?" He asked in a soft tone close to her ear. Ichigo went completely and totally still and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from laughing at her as her face flushed with embarrassment.

Finally after several moments, she finally moved to lean back in her seat and then shot him a small glare as she muttered, "You know, for someone so damned _big_\- you move way too quietly."

It wasn't the first time anyone had said that about him, so he didn't bother to take any offense as he smiled at her in amusement and simply straightened his spine so that he could walk around to where she was instead of letting himself practically drape over the back of the couch.

Once he was in place, he carefully seated himself next to her and set the glasses and plates down on the coffee table and then grabbed the wine bottle and quickly removed the top as Ichigo politely waited for him to pour them both a drink before she even bothered to reach for anything.

"Did you find something that you wanted to see?" Toshinori asked again as the two of them dug into the pizza that he'd brought.

"Maybe," Ichigo said as took a small sip of her wine to see how it tasted. Luckily it tasted pretty good. Setting her glass back down on the table, she picked up her plate of pizza and then leaned back as she slowly replied, "I'd like to check out the horror movies."

"Great! I had a feeling that you'd want to watch something bloody after the day that you've had," He said cheerfully before grabbing the movies from the bag and holding them up for her to see a little bit better as he asked. "Which one do you want to see first?"

"Cabin in the Woods first. House on Haunted Hill next. Then Jaws, the first one all the way through to Revenge."

He blinked at her, slightly startled by the fact that she bothered to sort of plan ahead as far as what she wanted to see. But said nothing about it as he took the movie and put it in her DVD player and then quickly returned to the couch to grab his plate of food and tucked into it as the movie started to play.

They must have made it through to the second Jaw's movie, and drank their fair share of wine. He, himself only had two glasses since he had never been much of a drinker and Ichigo had at least four. Things were winding down a little bit, and he'd noticed earlier that Ichigo had been trying to hide the fact that she was getting sleepy from him. But he'd still caught her yawning regardless.

And now- now she was sleeping with her head resting back over the back of the couch and he was staring at her. Internally wincing as he absently took note of the lateness of the hour. He hadn't meant to stay quite so late. Especially when she had already been tired.

But he'd simply enjoyed her company _so_ much.

Honestly he'd felt bad for staying for so long when she was clearly not up for the company. Sighing, he grabbed the remote for the TV off of the coffee table and turned it off before then setting the remote back down and then carefully collected the woman in his arms and took her to her bedroom and tucked her in.

* * *

There was a note on her bedside table when she woke up the next morning, along with a glass of water and some headache medicine. In case she had a little bit of a hangover, the note said.

Huffing softly, she took the pills and downed the water and then got up to shower and get dressed for the day. She couldn't really recall when she was supposed to go back to work at the school. But she would imagine that Nezu wouldn't let her stay home for terribly long.

She had just gotten out of the shower and gotten dressed and was heading towards the kitchen to see what there was to eat when she heard a soft knock on the door that separated her new home from All Might's and sighed as she turned and walked back and opened the door for him and then started walking back to the kitchen.

"Good morning," He greeted in a softer tone than normal as he stepped into her living space, wearing his hero uniform and quietly closed the door behind him. She took note of the unusually soft tone he was using and paused for a moment as she turned her head to give him a curious look as he moved along behind her and softly said. "I didn't expect you to be up and around so early. Did you have any thing planned for today?"

"Breakfast." Ichigo said as she started prepping the coffee machine to make her some coffee as he sat down at the island and watched her for a moment.

"And then?" He asked.

"And then nothing. I don't even recall if I'm supposed to go to work today."

"You don't. In fact neither of us do."

"_Awesome_. I got dressed for nothing." Ichigo said sarcastically causing him to let out a weird half snort/half choked sounding cough in an effort to hide his amusement at her statement.

"You didn't get dressed for nothing," He finally said once his tongue was finally able to function again. "I was wondering if you wanted to come with me on patrol."

"No thanks." She deadpanned automatically.

"Come on, it might be fun. And imagine all of the people that you could help." He said coaxingly.

She had to ignore the familiar burn of anger followed by the insane urge to throw a knife at his head. But if she did, she'd likely actually hit him with it so it was best to resist the temptation since she didn't want to accidentally kill him.

Why was it every time she turned around people were demanding that she do things? Why couldn't anyone take the word 'no' and just leave her alone?

"How about it?" He asked with an excited smile.

"I already said no." She said, careful not to let her anger bleed into her tone. Especially since it wasn't really him that she was still pissed with. It was goddamn _Nezu_.

His smile dimmed a little bit at her answer and he frowned at her. "B-But you're a hero..." Weirdly enough, his attempt at complaining was what caused her to finally snap. Whipping around, she shouted angrily.

"I'm not a hero! I'm a fucking _prisoner_! There is a difference!"

He stared at her wide eyed, his expression uncomprehending and his mouth opening and closing a little bit in shock as she raised a hand to rub at her eyes and then just walked off. Her bedroom door slammed shut several moments later as he silently pulled himself together and tried to think of the reason why she would think such a _horrible_ thing.

Sure he knew that she wasn't exactly happy with her current circumstances...but that was no reason to think that she were a prisoner. After all, everything that was being done at the moment was being done to protect her- wasn't it?


End file.
